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Average Americans Have 60 Bad Days A Year, Survey Finds

CBS Local — A new survey claims that the average American spends two months worth of each year suffering through a “bad day.”

According to the poll, sponsored by fitness and nutrition app Freeletics, working Americans spend about 60 days a year stressed out, upset, or just cranky. About 80 percent of the 2,000 people polled said their misery was at least partly caused by work-related stress, while 67 percent said the biggest reason for their bad day was not sleeping enough the night before.

Feeling sick was also found to be a key ingredient for having a bad day, as was worrying about money, cancelled plans, and even a person’s favorite sports team losing. One quarter of the people in Freeletics’ survey said frustration over a “bad hair day” added their stress.

The fitness app’s solution to all these days of misery isn’t to grab a carton of your favorite ice cream; Freeletics wants people to hit the gym. “Any form of exercise can help to relieve stress and frustration: it leads to an increased level of some hormones, dopamine, serotonin and endorphins in the body,” training specialist John-Francis Kennedy said, via the New York Post. “These, in turn, contribute to the feeling of happiness and a reduced level of the stress hormone cortisol.”

95 percent of the people surveyed agreed that time in the gym helped get them through a bad day. Nearly half of the group said working out made them feel more motivated. Not everyone is benefiting from a bad day workout however, as only one in five respondents actually had a gym membership. The biggest obstacle in getting to a gym was found to be the cost.